Set to open July 3 in theaters across the country, the new Lone Ranger casts Armie Hammer as John Reid, the mysterious masked Lone Ranger, and Johnny Depp as Tonto, Reid’s American Indian partner in justice-seeking.
Eighty years after it debuted on Detroit’s WXYZ as a children’s radio show (created by either station owner George Trendle or writer Fran Striker) and more than 60 years after it successfully transitioned to a weekly TV show on ABC, the story of the masked hero is riding again onto the big screen. The Lone Ranger rides again!” Photography: ABC/PhotofestĪnd indeed he does.
Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. “With his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the early West. A cloud of dust, and a hearty ‘Hi-yo, Silver!’ The Lone Ranger,” the narrator intoned at the opening of every episode. From 1949 to 1957 and in countless reruns since, those well-loved scenes meant you were in for true Western adventure.
The rider elegantly moved his steed into a full rear. A masked man astride a beautiful white horse galloped across the black-and-white television screen. Generations have thrilled to the William Tell overture not because Rossini wrote such a rousing piece of music but because his famous galop could only mean one thing: Another episode of The Lone Ranger was on TV. This segment is produced in partnership with the Michigan History Center.In the new Disney take on the classic western series, Armie Hammer dons the hero’s mask and Johnny Depp gets his Tonto on. This post was written by Stateside production assistant Katie Raymond. Listen above to learn more about the Lone Ranger's connection to Michigan, and how the show evolved over the years. The show used coconuts, a squeaky door, a floor wood panel, sand, and more to portray varying movements in each scene. “Their inside body movement became external, through their voices, and it was just wonderful.”Īs a very audio-rich program, Smela fondly recalls her fascination with the sound effects that accompanied the show. “They were people just dressed in regular clothes, who took on the persona of whatever cowboy or sheriff character they were to be that day,” Smela said. She says it was amazing to see the actors who brought the radio show to life in action. Smela auditioned for the show with her brother at 10 years old.
For actors, shows like "The Lone Ranger" provided steady job opportunities. Smela says that without television, radio was the medium where people got their entertainment. The three main actors who played the role of the Lone Ranger were George Seaton (in 1933), Earle Graser (1933-1941), and Brace Beemer (1941-1954). The show was contracted until the mid 1940s, and agreed to remain based in Detroit and hire most of its actors locally. Eighty-six years ago today, in January 1933, the iconic radio Western was broadcast for the first time from the Detroit studios of radio station WXYZ. The fictional character the Lone Ranger was conceived by George Trundle, owner of radio station WXYZ, and writer Fran Striker. They joined Stateside to discuss the show's Detroit roots, and its rapid rise to national popularity. Today on Stateside, we talked to Rachel Clark, of the Michigan History Center, and Lu Smela, child actor on the iconic radio show. He is famously known as "The Lone Ranger.” He was always mysteriously masked and made a vow to fight injustice. He never brandished a gun with the intention to kill, never spoke profane language, and never used incorrect grammar or slang.